Conflicts of interest in tobacco control in India: an exploratory study: Table 1

Rao, Neethi Varadaraja; Bhojani, Upendra; Shekar, Preetha; Daddi, Santosh

doi:10.1136/tobaccocontrol-2015-052503

Cited by 15 publications

(16 citation statements)

References 5 publications

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“…Tobacco serves as a significant source of income within a profitable industry, but the addictive nature of the substance leading to health harms, positions it in a unique intersection of multiple, competing interests. The findings here are consistent with other studies, highlighting the complexities within tobacco control 43 as well as the competing interests between tobacco promotion and tobacco control both in India 4 and at a global level. 44 45 However, similar research on policymakers in Turkey highlighted the politicians as crucial players in shaping the narrative and comprehensive policies around tobacco control.…”

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 92%

Diverse and competing interests around tobacco: qualitative analysis of two decades of parliamentary questions in India

2021

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IntroductionIndia continues to enhance tobacco control regulations protecting the public health while housing a widespread tobacco industry. This implies complexities in regulating tobacco. As part of a broader inquiry on the political economy of tobacco, we aimed to understand the concerns of Indian parliamentarians around tobacco.MethodsWe sourced transcripts of tobacco-related questions asked by parliamentarians between the years 1999 and 2019 from the electronic archives of both the houses of Indian parliament. We analysed the frequency of questions during different regimens, segregated by the states and the political parties that parliamentarians belonged to, as well as by the government ministries to which these questions were posed. We also conducted thematic content analysis of these questions, identifying specific themes defining parliamentarians’ concerns.Results729 unique parliamentarians asked 1315 questions about tobacco, conveying varied concerns related to health, commerce, labour and agriculture sectors. Over time, the focus of the questions shifted from majorly trade to majorly health-related concerns. We show how the tobacco regulations in India are multi-institutional and are a result of negotiations of several legitimate and competing, interests. We found important state-level differences in the number and nature of these questions.ConclusionParliamentary questions constitute a useful resource in studying tobacco politics. Tobacco regulations are a product of complex negotiation of varied and competing concerns. We identify core arguments in favour and against tobacco control that would help tobacco control advocates and agencies to better prepare and engage with diverse political voices around tobacco.

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Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 92%

Diverse and competing interests around tobacco: qualitative analysis of two decades of parliamentary questions in India

2021

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“…Despite the Indian government signing the FCTC in 2003, tobacco users represented up to 35% of the adults in 2010 according to the Global Adult Tobacco Survey [ 12 ]. Rao et al [ 9 ] investigated 100 public documents addressing the competing interests in tobacco control policies in India. They identified COIs at three levels, namely at the individual, organisations/government and policy planning levels.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…They identified COIs at three levels, namely at the individual, organisations/government and policy planning levels. Specifically, stakeholders and advocators holding positions in governments and institutions responsible for setting and implementing tobacco policies shared or had ownership in tobacco companies [ 9 ]. In one illustrative example, a former minister and the director of a tobacco company, served as a member of the powerful group of ministers deciding on pictorial warnings on tobacco packs.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Requirements of health policy and services journals for authors to disclose financial and non-financial conflicts of interest: a cross-sectional study

Khamis¹,

Hakoum²,

Bou-Karroum³

et al. 2017

Health Res Policy Sys

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BackgroundThe requirements of the health policy and services journals for authors to report their financial and non-financial conflicts of interest (COI) are unclear. The present article aims to assess the requirements of health policy and services journals for authors to disclose their financial and non-financial COIs.MethodsThis is a cross-sectional study of journals listed by the Web of Science under the category of ‘Health Policy and Services’. We reviewed the ‘Instructions for Authors’ on the journals’ websites and then simulated the submission of a manuscript to obtain any additional relevant information made available during that step. We abstracted data in duplicate and independently using a standardised form.ResultsOut of 72 eligible journals, 67 (93%) had a COI policy. A minority of policies described how the disclosed COIs of authors would impact the editorial process (34%). None of the policies had clear-cut criteria for rejection based on the content of the disclosure. Approximately a fifth of policies (21%) explicitly stated that inaccurate or incomplete disclosures might lead to manuscript rejection or retraction. No policy described whether the journal would verify the accuracy or completeness of authors’ disclosed COIs. Most journals’ policies (93%) required the disclosure of at least one form of financial COI. While the majority asked for specification of source of payment (71%), a minority asked for the amount (18%). Overall, 81% of policies explicitly required disclosure of non-financial COIs.ConclusionA majority of health policy and services journal policies required the disclosure of authors’ financial and non-financial COIs, but few required details on disclosed COIs. Health policy journals should provide specific definitions and instructions for disclosing non-financial COIs. A framework providing clear typology and operational definitions of the different types of COIs will facilitate both their disclosure by authors and reviewers and their assessment and management by the editorial team and the readers.Electronic supplementary materialThe online version of this article (doi:10.1186/s12961-017-0244-2) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.

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“…The genesis of India's code of conduct for public officials to prevent industry interference can be traced back to a 2010 decision of the High Court of Karnataka requiring its development, following litigation brought by public health activists to challenge governmental participation in an industry event. 15 16 Alongside this, Karnataka occupies an important position within India's tobacco industry; India ranks third in global production and fourth…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Institutional tensions, corporate social responsibility and district-level governance of tobacco industry interference: analysing challenges in local implementation of Article 5.3 measures in Karnataka, India

et al. 2022

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IntroductionAccelerating progress on tobacco control will require Article 5.3 of the WHO Framework Convention on Tobacco Control to be systematically integrated into policies and practices of sectors beyond health at diverse government levels. However, no study has explored implementation challenges of Article 5.3 within multilevel systems such as India, where political decisions on tobacco control occur at diverse government levels, which may constrain action at local level.MethodsBased on 33 semi-structured interviews with diverse government and civil society stakeholders across four districts in Karnataka, India (Mysore, Mangalore, Bengaluru (rural) and Udupi), this study examines challenges to implement Article 5.3 arising from competing agendas and policies of different actors at multiple levels.ResultsOur analysis reveals generally low levels of awareness of Article 5.3 and its guideline recommendations, even among those directly involved in tobacco control at district level. Efforts to implement Article 5.3 were also challenged by competing views on the appropriate terms of engagement with industry actors. Scope to reconcile tensions across competing health, agriculture and commercial agendas was further constrained by the policies and practices of the national Tobacco Board, thereby undermining local implementation of Article 5.3. The most challenging aspect of Article 5.3 implementation was the difficulties in restricting engagement by government officials and departments with tobacco industry corporate social responsibility initiatives given national requirements for such activities among major corporations.ConclusionsPromoting effective implementation of Article 5.3 in Karnataka will require policymakers to work across policy silos and reconcile tensions across India’s national health and economic priorities.

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Conflicts of interest in tobacco control in India: an exploratory study: Table 1

Cited by 15 publications

References 5 publications

Diverse and competing interests around tobacco: qualitative analysis of two decades of parliamentary questions in India

Diverse and competing interests around tobacco: qualitative analysis of two decades of parliamentary questions in India

Requirements of health policy and services journals for authors to disclose financial and non-financial conflicts of interest: a cross-sectional study

Institutional tensions, corporate social responsibility and district-level governance of tobacco industry interference: analysing challenges in local implementation of Article 5.3 measures in Karnataka, India

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